Burns assists Adams Croyle Recreation Authority in $63,019 grant
Lawn-mowing equipment for 8 acres relieves volunteers of burden
Rep. Frank Burns March 10, 2026 | 12:41 PM
JOHNSTOWN, March 10 – Connections made at state Rep. Frank Burns’ annual Christmas party are paying off for the Adams Croyle Recreation Authority, which is buying two zero-turn riding mowers and a small lawn tractor with a front-end loader bucket with a $63,019 state grant.
The seed for this grant, Burns recalled, was planted when Croyle Township supervisors Rich Potter and Dereck Wirfel attended the open-house holiday event and informed him of the need.
“They explained how volunteers were using their own personal lawn mowers to cut this grass, over the whole recreation area – which is so big that it was destroying their personal lawn tractors,” Burns said. “They asked for a grant to purchase industrial-grade equipment, something that could handle the size of area they had to cut. I told them of some grant opportunities, programs where they should apply.”
The grant application succeeded, Burns said, with him obtaining half the funding through the state House side, while state Sen. Wayne Langerholc obtained half on the state Senate side.
Potter said he and Wirfel “went to Frank and asked him if he could help us,” because Wirfel was using his personal garden tractor and mower to maintain the 8-acre area and was “beating up his own equipment” to help the all-volunteer recreation board that has extremely limited funds.
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“If it wasn’t for Frank, we wouldn’t be able to keep going the way we’re going … This helps us for the next 15 or 20 years, if we take good care of the equipment.” – Rich Potter, Croyle Township supervisor.
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When Burns called Potter to inform him the grant was awarded, Potter relayed the news and remembers Wirfel’s initial cautious reaction.
“We waited and waited and didn’t hear anything. We figured maybe we didn’t get it,” Potter said. “But when the state passed the budget, I heard from Frank that we did get it. When I told Dereck, he didn’t believe it at first.
“We’re so grateful. We have seven board members and we’re beside ourselves. We all donate our time. We could never had done (these equipment purchases) without the grant. No way. We get a little bit of money from each township, but it’s been drying up each year. We’re getting less and less.”
Potter added, “If it wasn’t for Frank, we wouldn’t be able to keep going the way we’re going. What would have happened if Dereck’s equipment broke down? This helps us for the next 15 or 20 years, if we take good care of the equipment.”